Always, always read the guidelines very carefully and give an editor exactly what they ask for. Formatting-wise, most places either ask for Standard Manuscript Formatting or Shunn Manuscript Formatting. Things are shifting from Standard Formatting to Shunn. Here is how they work, and why they are shifting.
Left justify the body (the story). That means you will have a nice, even start point at the left side of the page and a ragged right side. You show new paragraphs by indenting the first line of the new paragraph by five spaces. But if using a word processor, and most of us are nowadays, PLEASE do not use your space bar! You can set the indent so it will happen at the beginning of paragraphs automatically. (Don’t use your space bar to center your title and author at the beginning of your manuscript, either. Choose a “Center” alignment for those lines.)
Underline anything that is supposed to go into italics. It’s easier for editors to spot that way. And leave a half to a third of a page of space at the top below your contact information but before the title. This space is for editor’s notes.
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